The Substitute
by AJ and Sebastian Goin
Summary: Morgan has to play substitute and he's not sure he's going to survive it.


MN: By Special request for CriminalMindsJorgan

Disclaimer: If I owned Criminal Minds I would put your requests to play there instead of here.

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"I'm serious here Hotch. You have _got_ to get him here **now**. This is his fault and I don't think I can take the punishment for it much longer! She _hit_ me! Hard!" Derek paced the hallway as he pleaded with his boss by phone.

"He's on the jet now. We took off for the airport as soon as we got your message. He'll be there within two hours." Hotch's voice was sympathetic and that could only mean one thing: he knew Morgan was screwed.

"Okay. Two hours. I can do this for two more hours, right?" He knew he sounded like a pansy, but at this point, he was beyond caring.

"Morgan, you are an FBI supervisory special agent who teaches hand to hand combat skills. I think you should be able to deal with a lone petite woman who currently weighs in at a buck fifty. Now, if you don't mind, I have an unsub to catch." Hotch disconnected the call without further ceremony.

Derek slid his phone back in his pocket as a nurse rounded the corner, fixing her gaze on him. "There you are. She's all settled in." The woman turned and started back the way she'd come but stopped when she realized he wasn't following. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Come on then!"

The barked order propelled him into action and he fell in step beside her as she led him through the labyrinth of hallways. "First time, huh?"

He nodded glumly. "As a matter of fact, this is a situation I have specifically avoided for my entire adult life."

Out of the corner of his eye he could see her roll her eyes. "Well apparently you didn't try hard enough." She stopped outside a door. "Here we are, 512."

He had come to a halt beside her and now stood staring at the door, his sense of dread returning full force.

"Oh come on! In ya go." The nurse opened the door and pushed him through it.

For one blissful moment, it looked like she might be asleep. That hope was short lived. As he approached the bed, her eyes snapped open and she glared at him. "It's about time! Where the hell did you go to make that call? Florida?"

He sucked in a deep breath and forced what he hoped was a smile onto his face then stepped closer. "JJ, Princess, I had to find somewhere with a window so I could manage a signal. But good news, he's on his way!"

"Well good for him! I hope he gets here soon because I swear, I am going to kill you Derek Morgan." She growled his name through gritted teeth.

"Woah! Why are you going to kill _me_? What did I do?" He was tempted to step back out of arm's reach but summoned the courage to stay where he was.

"This is all your fault!" She screamed the words at him as she clutched at the blanket.

"_My_ fault? Oh, no! I'm pretty sure I would remember if I was involved with _that_!" He gestured at her swollen belly.

The hand movement had been a mistake and she grabbed it, squeezing it with a viselike grip as she rode out the rest of her contraction before answering him. "You may not have been the one who knocked me up, but the whole damned thing is your fault!"

Derek forced himself to ignore the pain in his hand and focus on her accusation. "How the hell is it _my_ fault?"

"Because, the whole thing started because _you_ got us drunk! I couldn't go home drunk with my mother there watching Henry! So I _had_ to stay at his place. If it weren't for those shots, we would never have had a ridiculously honest conversation that night. If we hadn't had that conversation, we would have never started dating. And if we hadn't started dating, I would never be lying here in labor with his child!" Her grip on his hand tightened again as another contraction ripped through her body.

He could feel the bottom drop out of his stomach as he glanced at the clock. "Uhhh, those contractions seemed pretty close together, Blondie. Do you think I should go get a doctor?"

"Yes! I just want this baby out! And seriously, _if_ I ever decide to do this again, which I doubt, remind me how epically bad an idea passing on the epidural is!" Tears welled up in her eyes as she spoke and the panic in his chest rose.

"You have my word. Now just hang tight and I'm going to go grab a doc, okay?"

**8 months earlier…**

Derek leaned back in his seat. The battery on his MP3 player was dead, but he doubted that he'd need music to help him fall asleep in the quiet cabin. He had just closed his eyes when he heard his partner drop into the seat across from him. He raised one eyelid to glance at her.

One look at her pallor had him immediately alert. "You don't look so hot. You okay?" She hadn't seemed quite herself for the entire trip and now she looked positively ill.

Her voice was scratchy as she replied, leading him to believe that her trip to the plane's tiny bathroom had been to empty her stomach of its contents. "I'm fine. Just tired."

He rolled his eyes. "You're not fine, JJ. And since when does a three day custodial leave you so tired that you look like you ate bad leftovers from the fridge at the office?"

She fidgeted under his stare for a moment before sighing. "You're right, I'm not fine." She raised her gaze to meet his, her eyes pleading. "If I tell you something do you swear not to tell anyone?"

Now she really had him worried. "Of course. What's up?"

Her eyes fell back to the table between them. "I'm pregnant."

He sat shocked for a moment then regained his composure, a smile spreading on his face. "Well congratulations! What does Reid think about becoming a dad?"

She fiddled with a pen that he'd been using to finish his paperwork. "He doesn't know."

Derek's smile faded as confusion set in. "What do you mean he doesn't know? I'm pretty sure it's kind of a big deal."

"I don't know how to tell him. I mean, we've only been dating for a few months. Hell, we haven't even told Henry that we're seeing each other yet. And you know how Spence is with relationships. I'm terrified that I'm going to freak him out and he's going to shut down on me." There were tears spilling from her eyes now and she swiped at them with her shirtsleeve.

He leaned across the table to cover her clasped hands with one of his own. "Look, I know he's not exactly experienced at this whole 'relationship' thing, but give him some credit. He loves you. Marriage and a baby or two has definitely crossed his mind. So, it's a little sudden. So he might freak out a little when you tell him. But think of it like this: he didn't let you go through your first pregnancy alone, and that baby wasn't even his. Do you really think he'd abandon you now?"

She nodded and sniffled loudly. "You're right. I'm being paranoid. When we get home I'm going to sit him down and just come right out with it."

He found himself once again smiling at her. "That's my girl. Now, we have a long flight left still. Why don't you go lay down and catch a nap. I'll wake you up when we're on approach."

"We really can't wait any longer." The doctor's statement left absolutely no room for argument.

Derek met JJ's eyes and the look of horror in them made his heart clench. "Sorry. We tried. He'll just have to catch the next one." He moved toward the door, but her hand shot out and caught his.

"Don't leave me!" The tone of her voice was as close to panic as he could remember ever hearing her.

"I'm just going to go get the getup on and send a text to the appropriate parties. I'll be right back." He squeezed her hand reassuringly and she released her grasp with a small nod.

His phone was in his hand, tapping out a text as he exited the room. He sent the same three words to the entire team: It's happening now. As he dropped the phone back into his pocket, the nurse who had shown him to the room a short time before appeared and took him by the arm.

"Come on. Let's go get you dressed and ready, Daddy."

Derek shrugged off her hand. "Woah. Hold the phone. I am _not_ her baby daddy. I'm just the unfortunate coworker that was with her when she went into labor with her boyfriend out of town."

Confusion clouded the nurse's features as they stepped into a room containing all manner of PPE so he decided to explain as she searched for paper garments that would fit him. "We're FBI agents. She's my partner. Her boyfriend is out of town on a case, a case that _my_ girlfriend, who happens to be Blondie's backup birthing partner, is also working. By default, and threats of sleeping on the floor with my dog, I am here for moral support until the _real_ baby daddy manages to get off his flight and get here."

The nurse blushed deeply as she handed him a gown and shoe covers. "Oh. I guess I owe you an apology for earlier then. I'm sorry."

He bent to slide on the blue paper coverings for his feet. "Apology accepted. Now, do you have any words of advice? I didn't exactly take the class on this. Her boyfriend is the one with delivery experience."

The nurse helped him tie on the gown. "Whatever you do, don't look. You are way too big to have to pick up off the floor if you faint."

Derek looked up as he heard the door open, ready to shoo out whomever was preparing to disturb the room's sleeping occupants. His glare turned into a smile when he saw the face that was peering through the gap. "Hey Pretty Boy. I see you finally made it."

Reid nodded as he stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. "I can't believe I missed it." His eyes fell on the bed where JJ was sleeping, having finally given in and allowed the hospital staff to administer pain medication.

Derek kept his voice low as his friend moved to the woman's side, gently brushing a lock of golden hair from her face. "She managed alright. But I swear, you better be here for the next one, come hell or high water. Because I am _not_ covering for you next time."

"Next time? I don't know if I could take a next time." Reid turned to face him and seemed to finally realize that Derek held a bundle of blankets in his arms.

"Come on kid. Come meet your daughter." He stood, taking care not to wake the newborn in his arms. He waited for Reid to settle in the chair then delicately passed over the sleeping infant.

Reid's eyes widened and Derek feared he was going to start crying. "Wow. She's beautiful."

"JJ finally picked a name. Spencer, meet Morgan Diana Reid. MD, meet your dad." He watched for a few moments as his friend continued to stare at his daughter until his phone vibrated in his pocket. "Well, Uncle D is going to go intercept Auntie Penny in the lobby and give you guys some time. Text me when Momma Bear over there wakes up and I'll come bearing coffee."

Spencer nodded at him absently as he turned and exited the room. He managed to use the signs hanging from the ceiling to find his way to the lobby, lost in his own thoughts as he walked. Maybe there was something to this whole 'settling down with a family' thing. And it might be nice to have a little Penelope running around…


End file.
